A Soul For a Soul
by biancadiangelo0703
Summary: Selene comes to camp as the 1st daughter of Artemis with a dark secret. She tells Nico that he could use her soul in exchange for Bianca's and they both leave camp to the Underworld to bring Bianca back while Artemis tries to stop them. Will Nico bring Bianca back or will he fall for innocent, broken Selene on the way?
1. She Looks Familiar

**Edited version: I took out the prologue thinking it just wasn't Artemis. I bet none of you really cared about how Artemis met the mortal and such. Just R&R when done.**

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Nico was sitting outside the Big House. He was bored and didn't want to stay in the Hades cabin. Percy was busy practicing his sword-fighting, Annabeth was reading, and Grover was searching for another demigod. He was almost napping when he suddenly heard shouting. He looked up to see Grover running down Half-Blood Hill with an unconscious girl in his arms. She got up and ran to help him. Up close, the girl was about thirteen with wavy auburn hair and a celestial bronze knife sitting on her chest. She was bleeding but it was nothing some ambrosia and nectar can't do.

"Grover, what happened?" Nico demanded.

"We were attacked by a monster. The Nemean Lion. She defeated it, but she was still knocked out."

Nico brushed away some of his black hair away from his eyes and said, "Give her to me. I'll take her to the infirmary."

Grover handed the girl to Nico and headed towards the infirmary. She looked familiar but he never met her. As he laid her down on a bed, she began to talk in her sleep.

"Alex."

As Nico took some nectar, he couldn't help wonder who Alex was. Nico began to slowly spoon-feed her some nectar. Soon, her eyes opened showing a silvery yellow color. Her eyes were breath-taking, a color like silver but with traces of light gold. Nico remembered now. When he was ten, he met a goddess with auburn hair and strange eyes the color of the moon.

Artemis.

But it's impossible Nico thought. Artemis was a maiden and never had children. Could it be that this girl was her daughter?

The girl spoke softly saying, "Where am I?"

Nico gave her a small smile and said, "In the infirmary. You were unconscious for a while."

"Grover-"

"Is fine. Now you might wanna rest."

The girl seemed glad to rest then she said, "I'm Selene."

"I'm Nico."

Soon, Selene was fast asleep and Nico left her there.

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**Kinda short, but I'll try to update more but I'll need 5 reviews :)**


	2. Selling a Soul

**I decided to stop with the 'need 5 reviews to update' thing. but thank you GooseberryIcecream and wolveshill for revewing. Anyways to make up for the short 2nd chapter, here's the 3rd chapter. Sadly, we don't get to read more about the other campers. Just Nico and Selene. Enjoy!**

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Selene opened her eyes. It's been like hours since she last awoke. Her dreams were haunting with memories of that night. It was always that night. She could never stop thinking about it. The screams, the pain on her arm, watching the flames. Even her own father was scared of her now. She was still the same person. Because of that night, she couldn't afford to make it happen again. She had decided she'd never fall for another guy again.

As she sat up, the boy Nico was sleeping in a chair beside her. Despite the past, she smiled as she watched the boy sleep with his black hair untidy and slightly snoring. Alex used to be like that. She pushed the thought out of her mind when Nico woke up. He smirked at her and said, "Our Sleeping Beauty awakes. Although I never imagined her to have red hair." She laughed quietly and replied, "How long have I been out?" "Two days. And I think it's about time you meet Chiron and Mr. D" he said. He held out her hand and she took it. His hand was firm and strong as he helped her out of her bed.

Nico lead Selene through the camp until they reached a place he called the Big House. They entered to find a centaur and a man with curly black wearing neon orange leopard-skin warm-up suit and his purple running shoes. They appeared to be playing some game of cards. Nico cleared his throat and the man said in a bored tone, "What is it now, Nigel?" Nico didn't bother to correct him and said, "The new demigod woke up." The centaur looked at Selene and greeted her, "Welcome to Camp Half-Blood, Selene. I'm Chiron." Nice to meet you." she responded. "Has she been claimed yet?" asked Chiron. As if on cue, a glowing white light appeared on top of Selene. They all looked up even Mr. D who didn't even care much about demigods. The light was formed into a silver bow with a crescent moon behind it.

"It's impossible." said Nico

"There's never been any child of this goddess." Chiron

"Who's my godly parent?" asked Selene, even if she already knew the answer. She knew the goddess of the hunt who was also sometimes the goddess of the moon.

"It is Artemis. Artemis is your mother."

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Selene wondered how is it possible that the first child of a god or goddess could cope with the extra attention. At least she was able to enjoy some privacy in her cabin. She didn't have to bother trying to hide her secrets from others.

As Selene heard a conch horn blow, she headed to the dining pavilion as Nico told her to do. He barely talked to her after they found out Artemis is her mother. It's as if he was avoiding her for some reason. Apparently, news in camp travels fast. As she joined the other campers, she had to ignore all the comments made about her.

"That's her, the daughter of Artemis."

"Wonder how Artemis could have a daughter after so long."

"She's not even meant to be born."

Selene wearily sat down at the Artemis table. _Maybe I am a mistake. _she though. _Artemis never liked men in the first place. I shouldn't be here._Her thoughts were interupted when she heard someone behind her. She turned to see a girl with slightly pointed ears and green eyes. "Hi," the girl greeted. "I'm Juniper, a wood nymph." "I'm Selene." Juniper sat down next to her. "How do you like camp so far?" she asked. "It's ok I guess," replied Selene. "But I hate the attention everyone gives me." "It's ok." Juniper reassured. "I'll be sure to personally hurt anyone if they say anything mean to you." Selene smiled at Juniper's comment and soon the two became friends.

"So Nico," said Grover at the Hades table. "You met the new Artemis girl?" "Yea, she's ok." mumbled Nico, trying to look more interested in his pizza. But Grover wouldn't stop talking about her. "Ok? She looks as hot as her mom." said Grover. "You know if she's interested?" "Grover, chill she just got here." snapped Nico. "I think someone's jealous." Grover teased. "Nah," Nico replied. "I'm not even interested." "Then why did you practically stay by her side when she was knocked out?" challenged Grover. Nico just shrugged and muttered, "I'm outta here." He even ignored Grover's comment on the Apollo's sing-a-long. He just wasn't in the mood.

Since everyone was probably at the sing-a-long, Nico decided to go to the beach. Even if it was Percy's thing, he needed a quiet place to think. He later found out he wasn't the only one.

"You two?" "Yea. Needed a place to think." Selene said. "Same here." Nico said, sitting on the sand. "Tough day?" he asked. She just nodded. "Met anyone else?" "Just Juniper." Selene said casually. "Ah, Grover's girlfriend." Nico told her. "I know." she said quietly. They sat together in silence except for the crashing of the waves and the wind blowing gently.

"So, who's Alex?" asked Nico, referring to the name she spoke while she was supposedly unconscious. He saw her stiffen and asked suspiciously, "How did you hear about his name?' "You said his name in your sleep." Nico casually replied. Selene stayed quiet, trying to think if she should tell him. Finally, she said, "Let's just say he was someone I loved." "What happened, he died?" asked Nico. Selene stiffened and responded," You could say that." Nico sensed this subject was a dark one for her and decided to leave it alone.

"My sister died." Nico told her. "Yea, I've heard." Selene simply replied. "At first, I got mad at Percy, son of Poseidon," Nico explained. "But she told me not to blame him. I listened to her but I still haven't stopped thinking about trying to find a way." Selene simply listened, nodding her head, understanding. "Must have been tough, losing a love one like that." she said. "Yea," he admitted. "It really was." "So, you still looking for a way to bring her back?" she asked. "Yea." Nico said. "Found anything?" she continued. "Well, I wanted to trade the inventor, Daedalus's soul for Bianca's but I let him go when he died." he admitted.

"You could use my soul." Selene offered. Nico was surprised at her offer. "You seriously wanna die to help me?" he asked. "You barely know me." "I know," she said. "But it might be better if I were dead." "Everyone has a purpose in life." Nico tried. Selene looked at him with her strange gray eyes. He looked right back. She explained sincerely, "Nico, I'm the daughter of the maiden goddess Artemis. I'm not supposed to even be alive." And that was how she felt. Like she wasn't meant to be born. "It might be better if my soul could be used to bring back your sister's." Nico looked away to the ocean. He remembered how much he wanted Bianca back and how Bianca would keep telling him to let her go. "Fine," he firmly answered. "Come with me to the Underworld. There, we'll bring back Bianca. I'll meet you in the Artemis cabin, after curfew, around ten. It's closer to Half-Blood Hill." "Deal." Selene said.

"Well," Nico said, getting up. "It's getting late. I'll walk you back to your cabin." Selene didn't reply, only got up to and followed him to the Artemis cabin that was know starting to glow silver in the moonlight. At the front of the cabin he said again, "Are you sure you wanna do this?" "Yes." Selene said firmly. Before he could say another word, she went inside. The cabin was decorated with bunks in white silk bed sheets and blankets. The window overlooking the starlit sky was covered by thin white silk curtains. By the window was a nightstand with her silver chain necklace with a _S_ pendant. But added to the nightstand was a new white crescent hairpin and a rectangular black velvet box. She opened the box to find and a small pair of knives and a small white note, probably from Artemis herself. She read the note to see it said:

_The hairpin will change to a bow and a quiver of arrows when tapped. These hunting knives shall be useful on hand-to-hand combat. I know you have no experience with these weapons but being my daughter, you'll be familiar with these weapons._

Selene closed the box and placed it back on the nightstand, thinking that even if she wasn't supposed to be born, maybe Artemis cared for her a little.

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**that last line might be a little out of line, but hey Selene needed a weapon somehow. Hope you liked it! Reviews always make my day :)**


	3. Whether You Want To or Not

Nico began to prepare for his journey. He felt a bit excited, more nervous. He wondered why Selene was so willing to help him by sacrificing herself. They only knew each other for about a day. Yet he was still glad he found someone willing to help him bring Bianca back. Once he packed all his stuff -few clothes, baggie of ambrosia, canteen of nectar, his Stygian sword -he closed his eyes and melted into the shadows.

Selene was awaken by a soft hand on her shoulder. She slowly opened her silver eyes to see a figure hidden in the shadows.

"Nico?" she whispered.

"Yea it's me."

"I didn't hear-"

"Me come in? I shadow-traveled. Get up already."

Selene sat up, pushing away her silk blanket and got out of her bed. She was wearing a short-sleeved white Aeropostale T-shirt, jeans, and worn-out black Converse sneakers. She picked up her black messenger bag from beside her bed and slung it over her shoulder.

"Ready?" she asked. Nico gave her a sly grin.

"It depends with you," he said. She gave him a puzzled look as he held out his hand. She took it, noticing how cold and hard it felt.

"We're gonna travel to Ohio. I'm pretty sure you've never shadow traveled before, am I right?" he asked. She shook her head.

"Don't worry. You might be a little dizzy afterwards, but you'll live. Maybe."

Before she could say something else, Nico began walking towards the wall. Before they could collide, they were engulfed by darkness. A chilling feeling spread throughout her body. She closed her eyes, hoping to block it all out.

'You can open your eyes now," Nico whispered into her ear, the only warmth she had felt after shadow-traveling. She opened her eyes, taking in the cool summer breeze.

"I'm impressed," Nico commented. "Most first-timers pass out. Thank the gods I don't have to carry you all the way to L.A"

"Um, thanks for the compliment?" Selene said. "Where are we again?"

"I told you. Ohio. I can't travel that far yet."

"Oh."

"Looks like we gotta start walking."

After walking for about two miles, Nico stopped. A familiar girl wearing a silk jacket and a silver circlet in her black spiky hair was watching them with her ice blue eyes.

"Thalia?" Nico said as he recognized the girl.

"Nico di Angelo," Thalia responded. "Long time, no see."

"What brings you here?" he asked.

"I should be asking you the same," she answered. "Then again, it does involve her."

"Me?" Selene asked, confused on why this stranger would be asking about her. "Why?"

"It's your mom," Thalia answered. "She wants you to join the Hunters."

"No way, Thalia." Nico firmly said. "We already got our own plans."

"Artemis knows about your plans. Nico, even though she won't say what she knows," Thalia replied sharply. "Selene, being Hunter is great. And, you'll get a good chance with spending time with your mom."

"I'm not interested in spending time with the mother who probably regrets my birth," Selene answered coldly.

"What a shame," Thalia said, her grin as cool as the breeze that blew. "Guess we gotta handle this the hard way."

"What do you mean, Thalia?" Nico demanded.

"Artemis isn't taking no for an answer this time." Thalia told them. "Selene is going to be an eternal maiden whether she likes it or not. Besides, Selene, you've had a taste of how love can be."

Selene paled as Thalia said the last line.

"Never...mention...that...again." Thalia shrugged.

"I'll be heading off now. Remember, Selene, you'll be one of us, one way or another."


	4. Choices

**Sorry for the wait. I blame writer's block. Anyways here's the next chapter.**

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"Who's Alex again?" Nico asked.

"A mistake," Selene quietly admitted. "A huge mistake."

"Okay then don't tell me," Nico said, shrugging his shoulders. "But looks like we gotta crash somewhere for the night."

"Why?" Selene groaned. "The more we stop, the sooner the Hunters will catch up to us."

"Ok, but would you rather meet them in bright daylight or fight them blindly through the night?" Nico challenged. Selene scowled at him and began setting up camp.

"Fine, but we're leaving early in the morning."

"Aren't daughters of Artemis supposed to prefer night over day?" Nico teased.

"Well, I'm a first so it doesn't matter," she stated seriously.

"Fine fine," Nico continued. "You're so much like your mom, don't know how to take a joke."

"I'm nothing like my mother," she said. She lay down on her sleeping bag, her body language clearly showing Nico she wasn't in the mood to talk about it. Nico shrugged again. He didn't seem to get bothered by these sort of things. Instead of sleeping, Nico began to build a small fire around them. Once he finished, he sat comfortable by the warm fire. Looking at it, he could see glowing red eyes.

Woah, he thought. Red eyes _in the fire?_

A girl about eight years old formed from the fire, radiating the same heat as of a fire. Her red eyes glowed softly like coals. She may look like a young girl, but those eyes of hers showed years of wisdom gathered over her long years.

"Hestia," Nico said to the goddess. The goddess smiled at the young son of Hades.

"Nico di Angelo," she greeted warmly. "It's been so long. How has your quest been so far?"

"Well, other than being threatened by Artemis and Thalia and being nervous about what my dad will think once I bring Bianca back, everything's just been swell."

"Be patient on Selene, Nico," warned Hestia. "The girl has been through much recently."

"Well, it's hard since the girl's being stubborn."

"She's only trying to help. Besides, she's the one dying, not you. She's very frightened as much as she won't show it. She's had a rough life."

With those final words, Hestia's image flickered along with the flames and she left. Nico wearily sighed and laid down on his sleeping bag and closed his eyes.

You would think that he'd finally get a good night's sleep. Wrong. He was dreaming of walking through some forest when a silver arrow flew through the trees and pinned him against a tree. He struggled to pull it out from his jacket, but to no avail. he stopped suddenly when he heard a rustle through the leaves.

"Who's there?" he asked. A shadow moved through the forest but no one answered.

"What do you want from me?" he asked again. This time, a girl with dark red hair started to approach him. At first he thought it was Selene, but as the girl got closer, he could see that her eyes were a silvery yellow not the silvery gray of Selene's.

"Artemis," he said to the goddess.

"Hello, Nico," greeted the goddess. "I apologize for approaching you this way but I needed to make sure you won't run away before I send you away.

"What do you want, Artemis?" Nico asked.

"Don't continue to shadow-travel," the goddess requested. "Let me and my Hunters intercept you and hand over my daughter to me."

"It's her decision," he told her. "I can't make her change her mind. If she wants to die , let her be."

"Keep talking, Nico," said a voice out of nowhere.

"What in Hades?" he said.

Another girl was coming towards them and Nico could see that she was stunningly beautiful.

"Aphrodite?" he asked.

"Nico, ignore Artemis's request," Aphrodite said to him. "You and Selene make an absolutely _cute_ couple. It would be a shame for a pretty girl like her to die or even worse , become a Hunter."

"You are practically insulting me, Aphrodite," said Artemis. "Besides, Selene Nightengale is my daughter and I have the right to decide what's best for her."

"Well, I'm pretty sure Nico agrees with me," argued Aphrodite. "After all, she's pretty and playing hard-to-get."

"Look," Nico interrupted. "I'm not even starting to like her. She's just trying to help bring back Bianca back. And wait, her last name is Nightengale?"

"Yes," Artemis answered. "Her father is Jason Nightengale. Why?"

"Because," he answered. "She never told anyone her last name."

"You should understand, Nico di Angelo, that my daughter went through so many hardships. The accident with that...boy crushed her so badly that even her father couldn't bring her back. She will keep running, trying to run away from the past but she'll never forget. I want to protect my daughter, show her life as it should be, without men to taint life."

"Men are the reason for our existence," argued Aphrodite. "Artemis, you wouldn't even be here without Zeus. And Nico's doing a fine job healing poor Selene's wounds."

"She's on the edge of tears," Nico pointed out.

"Tears can be wiped away," Aphrodite said as she continued. "Point is, best way for her to heal is to move on and Nico can help her move on, can't you Nico?"

"Enough!" Nico yelled, surprising both goddesses. "I'm doing what I want to do. I'm shadow-traveling with Selene to L.A and _only _because I want my sister back."

He began to walk away when Artemis said one last thing.

"Nico, Nico, what would your sister say if she were here?"

He turned around slowly to face those eerie silver yellow eyes of hers. How different they seemed compared to Selene's shining silver eyes and how different was Artemis's auburn hair from Selene's. Selene's had a few more curls than Artemis and Selene's always looked oh so soft...

"My sister would want her brother back," Nico replied.

"Really, Nico, really?" challenged Artemis, knowing too well that even Nico wasn't sure. "She joined the Hunters for a reason. She's probably better off in Elysium, let the girl rest in peace. As for Selene hand her back to me."

"No, I won't!" Nico yelled once more. "I'm taking her to L.A unless she wants to go to you herself!."

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**Kinda cheesy but better than nothing. I'll keep Alex a secret till the next chapter or the next next chapter. Review please :)**


	5. Her Story

**Sorry I haven't updated in a while but thanks to SonOfTime, DaughterOfPoseidonxD, Brooke, Percyjacksonaddict123456789, and T. J. Nightshade for reviewing. And for whoever Lady Artemis is... what's your problem? The description mentioned that this would be about a daughter of Artemis. So if you don't like that idea then why bother reading it? With that, here's the chapter n I apologize if it's a bit corny or anything.**

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Nico was used to shadow-traveling so he didn't pass out from the usage of energy. However, Selene shadow-traveled twice within twenty-four hours so Nico was carrying her unconscious body near San Francisco Bay. Setting her down, he lay down in exhaustion. _We were so close! _he thought to himself. _I could practically sense the Underworld already._

They were even farther away from the Underworld, but at least that meant they were farther away from the Hunters as well. Nico looked over at Selene and began watching her sleep. Her blood red hair was spread out on the grass and her hand was tucked gently underneath her cheek. Her eyes were lightly closed instead of squeezed tight, trying to block out a nightmare. Nico sighed wearily, wishing he could sleep that peacefully.

Selene's eyes slowly fluttered open, waking up from a dreamless sleep. Slowly, she sat up and looked around. Behind her was a body of water and up ahead was the Golden Gate Bridge.

"San Francisco Bay," said a familiar voice behind her. She turned to see Nico sitting cross-legged and facing the water.

"Why San Francisco? Isn't it farther from L.A?" she asked.

"It was one of the places my sister never got to see on her quest," Nico answered quietly. Selene turned her head away from him, trying to wipe away the tears that were falling for a past memory.

"You're crying, aren't you?" Nico asked, his back still turned to her.

"Maybe," Selene answered weakly. "You think you know everything, don't you di Angelo?"

"Not everything," he admitted. He got up and walked towards her. When she wouldn't look at him, he sat down and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"I still don't know why you want to do this," he said, his voice low and soft. "Who is Alex?"

She turned to him but didn't answer. Instead, she could only look at his warm dark chocolate eyes with her quivering moon-colored ones. He placed a hand to cup her cheek. She flinched slightly at his cool touch, but she didn't turn away. She trusts him now, trust him that he'll protect her from harm until the end of their journey. When he pushed a stray curl behind her ear, the simple gesture brought back memories of _him_.

"Fire," she whispered. "Fire was the reason why he isn't with me anymore."

"It was August thirteen. We went to summer camp together and it was our last night together. When all the cabins were asleep, we snuck out to a deserted cabin by the lake that was said to be haunted. We were just talking. Alex and I bonded over the summer. He was a quiet black-haired, brown-eyed boy that somehow noticed me. He was gentle around me, something my father wasn't. The monsters had started coming for me, but I didn't know it at first. I used to tell him that I've been close to death many times and he told me that he'd always protect me. I was stupid enough to believe it and I could've sworn I almost fell in love with him."

"Then, a fire just started in the dusty fireplace. We were near it, but we didn't touch it. The fire kept growing and growing until it spread beyond the fireplace. Everything began catching on fire and it all happened in just a couple of minutes. Alex kept pushing me towards the door until an inflamed piece of wood fell from the ceiling, separating us. I panicked and crawled to the door Before I ran to get help, I saw a girl with my red hair and yellow eyes like the moon through the flames."

"When I ran, I could still hear Alex screaming my name. He never got out alive. Even now, I can hear him calling my name and I see yellow eyes peering through fires. That night haunted me ever since. I thought that if I died, I could see him again and ask for him to forgive me. But I'm afraid he won't."

Selene finished and hugged her knees to her chest. Retelling that story was like reliving the memory. Then Nico, Nico who never cared about anyone besides his sister, took her hand and pulled her gently. She followed and let him pull her shuddering body close to his chest. He wrapped his arms protectively and carefully around her. For once, both souls allowed the comfort of the other, trying to heal their wounded hearts.

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**Like? Please review and I'll try to update quicker next time :)**


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